Catholic Bishops Sharply Attack School Clinics

Washington--The nation's Roman Catholic bishops last week called for
the enactment of federal and state laws that would bar school-based
health clinics from dispensing contraceptives and providing abortion
counseling.

In a strongly worded policy statement adopted unanimously here on
Nov. 18, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops argues that the
provision of such services is "morally objectionable, and open to
question even on practical grounds."

The 26-page document rebuts claims that school-based contraceptive
services lower teen-age-pregnancy rates. It urges schools to combat the
problem by mobilizing "the inner resources of teen-agers" and teaching
"responsible habits of thinking and living" that emphasize sexual
abstinence.

"We ask the public schools and other secular institutions not to
assume the role of teaching religion," Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin of
Chicago said in presenting the statement, "but to make the case for
sexual self-restraint in light of values and benefits that most
Americans can appreciate regardless of their denominational
belief."

The bishops' statement implores Catholics to "work effectively with
other concerned taxpayers in their local communities to promote a
morally responsible approach" to the establishment of school-based
clinics.

It does not directly oppose clinics that do not provide
contraceptives, but says they are at best only a "partial answer" to
the health needs of young people.

Proponents of the clinics last week defended the right of local
communities to decide such issues independently and questioned the
bishops' contention that school-based contraceptive services are not
effective in reducing pregnancy.

Agreeing with the bishops that abstinence is "the first line of
defense in preventing teen pregnancy," Beth Fouhy, a spokesman for the
Center for Population Options, said clinics had been shown to encourage
a delay in the initiation of sexual activity.

The bishops' statement, she said, "begs the question, 'Why does the
community want a clinic to begin with?' It wants kids to have primary
health care."

Recent figures compiled by the organization, she said, show that
most teen-agers who visit school-based clinics do so for reasons other
than obtaining contraceptive aids or advice. Between 15 percent and 20
percent of the visits involve those services.

On the issue of whether the clinics reduce the incidence of
pregnancy, Ms. Fouhy said, "I keep wondering where [the bishops are]
getting their data."

A spokesman for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which has funded
24 school-based clinics, said the foundation had no comment on the
bishops' statement.

Embroiled in Controversy

The document was adopted in a voice vote with no opposition by the
more than 270 American bishops attending the annual meeting of the nccb
last week.

It had been prompted by a request last year from Bishop Leo Maher of
the Diocese of San Diego that the conference provide more guidance on
the controversial topic. Like all of the conference's recommendations,
the "Statement on School-Based Clinics" is nonbinding.

The document does, however, add the weight of one of the most
influ8ential Catholic bodies in the United States to current efforts to
defuse the school-clinic movement.

Bishop Maher and several other diocesan leaders, including Cardinal
John O'Connor of New York and Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago, have
opposed the establishment of public-school health clinics in their
cities that would provide contraceptives or family-planning
counseling.

And last week, Archbishop J. Francis Stafford of Denver urged
Catholic parents not to allow their children to use two school-based
health clinics that will open soon there, even though they will not
dispense contraceptives or offer counseling on abortions.

In a letter read from pulpits in 14 Denver parishes, the archbishop
said he opposed the clinics because the guidelines for their operation
do not require health-care workers to notify parents of their
children's visits.

Promotes Promiscuity

According to the cpo and other family-planning organizations, more
than 100 school-based clinics have been established nationwide,
primarily in metropolitan areas.

The bishops' moral critique of the school-based health programs
providing contraceptives rests primarily on the fact that such programs
"take a promiscuous lifestyle for granted and resort to the deception
that premarital sexual activity is without adverse consequences so long
as pregnancy is avoided."

Access to contraceptives, the statement says, has not led to
reductions in teen-pregnancy rates. The fact that the birth rate among
teenagers has fallen, it contends, reflects an increase in
abortions.

The clinics violate the rights of parents to oversee the moral and
physical development of their children, it says, charging that a
primary reason for locating them in schools "is to gain access to
teenagers without their parents' involvement."

In particular, it maintains, the role of such clinics in helping
pregnant teen-agers obtain abortions shows "little concern for the
well-being of the teen-age girl who is persuaded to eliminate her
child."

No 'Counsel of Despair'

The bishops sharply criticized a recent report by the National
Academy of Sciences, which concluded that "we currently know very
little" about how to reduce teen-age sexual activity.

Calling that report a "counsel of despair," the bishops challenged
the Academy's suggestion that efforts to teach abstinence will be
unsuccessful.

"To despair of improving teen-agers' self-discipline and their hope
for the future is to abandon hope not only with regard to the
teen-pregnancy problem, but with regard to teen-agers themselves," the
bishops wrote.

The bishops rejected an amendment to the statement calling for
Catholic schools to develop "positive programs on sex education."

Rather, the statement says that "programs of education in human
sexuality which respect parental rights and the need for moral
responsibility can have a significant impact on young people's lives"
if provided in the "supportive context" of educational, economic, and
social initiatives that bolster hope and self-esteem.

The statement acknowledges that the basic health needs of many
teen-agers may be met by school-based clinics, but argues that the
clinics may divert funds from "more cost-effective initiatives," such
as Medicaid.

The document did not directly mention the problem of aids, which
conference officials said would be addressed in a separate statement
next year.

Vol. 07, Issue 12

Notice: We recently upgraded our comments. (Learn more here.) If you are logged in as a subscriber or registered user and already have a Display Name on edweek.org, you can post comments. If you do not already have a Display Name, please create one here.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.